The Quick Fix

By

Bryan Craig

“We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.”  Psalm 33:20

It truly seems that one of the weaknesses of living in this flesh is impatience.  When we are hungry, we want to eat NOW!  When we are tired, we get grumpy because we want to go to sleep NOW!  When we want an answer from someone, we want it NOW!  If anyone has kids, you may have noticed that this impatience starts at a very young age, actually at birth.   From the moment we are born, we let our needs be known in loud and convincing ways, and we will scream until our needs are satisfied. As we maneuver through life, we see that this is an ongoing struggle.  For those of us who know Christ as our personal savior and have become His disciples, we have a newfound freedom from our flesh by the power of the Spirit.  However, we are forced to live in this flesh until we, one day, join Christ in the Heavenly realm.  Our flesh still tries to control our being, even though the Spirit tells us that once we gave our lives to Christ, the flesh died.  So, a spiritual wrestling match ensues. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.  Life presents us with challenges every day, and our flesh wants a quick-fix.  How many times have you thought that if you could just have a financial windfall, which would pay off all your debts, all your troubles would be gone.  Or how many times has your wife come to you about some problem, and rather than empathize with her, all you wanted to do was fix the problem.  And whenever we deal with pain from any source, physical or emotional, we just want it to stop NOW!  Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts in life.  Every quick-fix we come up with usually ends in heartache. The disciple of Christ must learn the discipline to wait on the Lord.  Scripture is full of so many examples where God’s people were told to wait.  In 1 Samuel 13, you can read about when Saul first became King of Israel.  His son, Jonathan had attached a Philistine outpost, and the Philistines assembled with a large army to go after the Israelites.  Saul was instructed by God through Samuel to gather his troops and wait seven days for Samuel to come.  In the meantime, tensions grew among the people and fear began to set in.  Many of the Israel army went to hiding.  When Samuel did not arrive immediately at the 7-day mark, Saul grew impatient and took matters into his own hands.  When Samuel arrived, he was indignant. “You acted foolishly,” Samuel said.  “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, He would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.  But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after His own heart and appointed him leader of His people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:13-14 God desires men who are men after His own heart, who trust Him and serve Him faithfully.  Even when life doesn’t look too promising, God expects us to wait on Him.  When everything within us is screaming for resolution, the man of God waits for the Spirit to lead.  God is not cruel, and I believe He sympathizes with our weaknesses, but He has a plan He is working out in His time.  He knows what He is doing.  And we have to understand that the plan may not be worked out this side of Heaven.  In Hebrews 11, the Hall of Faith chapter, it says in verse 13: “All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.” I do think a Quick-Fix exists which is pleasing to the Lord, no matter the situation.  Every time we are faced with a problem or feeling the stress of life taking us down, the Quick-Fix is PRAYER.  We press the pause button of life, and we get still before the Lord, and we talk to Him about whatever we are facing.  In this, we cast our burdens upon Him, and in doing so, we demonstrate Faith.  We ask Him if there is anything we need to be doing that we are not doing.  We praise Him and we love Him and we trust Him.  We leave our prayer time knowing that He is working something out in our life for good.  He gives us the peace that transcends understanding. God’s Word tells us to “pray continually” for a reason.  God knew we would need to pray often.  And in James, we are reminded that we pray with faith: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.” James 1:5-7 So, brothers, I know we are all dealing with something for which we would like resolution.  I encourage you to wait on the Lord and to spend your anxious moments in Prayer.  God loves you, son, and He has a plan for you.  This trial has a purpose.  It may be a test, like it was with Saul.  If Saul had proven faithful, God would have established his kingdom forever.  Instead, he settled for a quick-fix the world had to offer. Just remember that Jesus Christ is our King, and He is faithful, and His kingdom endures forever.  When we pray, our spirits rise and join His Spirit in that kingdom.  Suddenly, the world grows dim, and we are free.